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Meet Anahera Patel of Mohea Entertainment in Hollywood

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Anahera Patel.

Anahera, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I feel like I came out of the womb dancing! Being the youngest of three girls, I grew up watching my sisters dance. My parents always exposed my sisters and I to art and culture and along the way we all picked up artistic interests. I knew at a very young age that dance was mine. Prior to moving to the US, my parents lived in Aotearoa, also known as New Zealand. I remember watching my sisters perform Maori poi balls. Since we grew up with Maori culture, we were also familiar with different types of Polynesian dance. I asked my father to find a Maori dance school in California. At the time, there was no Google, and my dad had to search through the phone book and physically drive around to find places. He wasn’t able to find a school for Maori dance, but instead found a Polynesian dance school that taught traditional Hula and Tahitian dance. I convinced my parents to enroll me. My curiosity for these cultures and dance quickly turned into a passion.

I have studied under many legendary Polynesian dancers and was a student of Ori Tahiti dance at the Conservatoire Artistique de Tahiti in Papeete, Tahiti. I recently spent four months studying Ori Tahiti, training and performing in the Heiva I Tahiti 2018 with the prestigious group Hei Tahiti under the legendary Tiare Trompette. To this day, I consider this the greatest honor of my dance career. Dancing in Tahiti, at the source, was one of the most rewarding, humbling and incredible experiences of my life. Like many cultural dances, Polynesian dance is rooted in deep cultural traditions, storytelling and art. Because I view Polynesian dancers as not only entertainers, but cultural ambassadors, I decided to start my company, Mohea Entertainment, in Los Angeles as a way to preserve, honor, and pass along the stories of our Polynesian ancestors.

I have over 20 years of dance and performance experience and have been dancing professionally in Los Angeles & Hollywood for seven years. Hollywood is full of glitz and glamour, and I had the privilege of dancing for all types of audiences, celebrities, companies, and even on television. All of those experiences have been so fun and memorable, but they also got me thinking. I realized that there was opportunity to spread the culture in an industry that was only familiar with coconut bras and cellophane skirts. I wanted to bring a more authentic Polynesian show experience to Hollywood. I knew there was a way to balance Hollywood style entertainment with culture, and I knew our audiences were interested in having a more authentic cultural experience. That’s the foundation that Mohea Entertainment was born upon. What’s most special about my team is that each and every one of them shares a passion for not only the dance but for the culture. My dancers don’t just learn choreography, they learn the music, lyrics, translations, meanings, and history behind each piece.

Being a dancer my entire life, I also had an opportunity to learn traditional techniques of costume making. I have been making Polynesian costumes for myself and dancers all over the world for years under my brand Mohea Designs and even had the opportunity to showcase my work at a runway show in Los Angeles at the globe theatre sponsored by Raw Artists LA. I make all the costumes for my dancers from authentic materials from the islands, there’s no plastic coconuts or fake grass skirts here, you get the real deal with us.

Every year I return to the source to learn and absorb as much as possible. This year I was able to make two trips to Tahiti and one to Aotearoa. Even with my experience and running my company, I consider myself a student of the culture for life. Polynesian dance has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. A gift given to me by the Polynesian people, and I strive to honor that the best I can. I’m incredibly grateful for my team for believing and sharing my mission to share the Polynesian culture to the best of our abilities and bring authentic, premium entertainment to the entertainment capital of the world.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m not sure there is a smooth road with any journey! There are always challenges when starting a company and I feel that to be especially true with entertainment companies. There are so many pros and cons to living and working in the entertainment capital. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is the unpredictability of the business. The entertainment industry is so fast moving, anything can happen or change at anytime. One thing I’ve learned from working in Hollywood for seven years is to always be ready! Be ready for anything at anytime! We had a show scheduled for a high profile celebrity family that I had prepared two months for. We had rehearsed, made new costumes and were set to go.

On the morning of our event, I get a call from one of my dancers that she and another dancer were stuck at the airport and wouldn’t make it in time for the show. Just as panic was setting in, I had to gather myself, think of a plan B, and find a solution. As a perfectionist, this was killing me inside, as the routines were rehearsed and costumes were fitted to these particular dancers. But I knew I had to let go of that in the moment. I contacted all of my dancers, and two of my best, without hesitation, dropped everything they were doing and came to my place. They rehearsed, adjusted the costumes and were ready in hours. But in the end, one of the scariest moments of my professional career turned out to be a blessing. That experience showed me the humanity of the business, and my compassionate and committed team behind me drove us to have one of our best and most memorable shows.

Please tell us about Mohea Entertainment.
Mohea Entertainment was created with the intention of bringing authentic Polynesian entertainment to the rest of the world. With our knowledge and love of our Polynesian cultures, our shows are memorable, exciting, and fun for all! We perform dances from different Polynesian Islands including, Hawaii, Tahiti, Aotearoa, and Samoa. We cater small to large scale events for corporations, event planners, celebrities and audiences all over the world.

Our costumes, choreography, and professionalism makes Mohea Entertainment the highlight of any event. Our performers serve as cultural ambassadors, giving our guests a genuine Polynesian cultural experience and memories to keep forever.

As I mentioned before, I am most proud of my the team I was able to bring together. I am so grateful to work with a group of people who are just as committed to my mission as I am. We strive to give the most authentic cultural experience as possible while still being fun, exciting and entertaining. All of our performers have unique connections to the islands and they each bring something special to offer. Being able to bring a group of dynamic, hardworking and talented artists together is a dream in itself. I find myself humbled and honored ever time I see them perform for Mohea Entertainment.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I’ve learned a lot in the short time I’ve had my company. There are so many characteristics needed to be an effective leader. When it comes to my business, I am very organized and always prepared, my team jokes that I’m a girl scout! Being the boss comes with so many responsibilities, your mind is always thinking about something. I realized that started to take me out of the moment. At shows, I would be taking care of all the logistics and sometimes forget to enjoy the moment. I would worry about things that hadn’t happened. There were a couple of instances where I had produced such large productions, my mind was racing so fast. But then I turned around, saw my team of 12 performers, crew of 4, all on their marks, ready to go and I realized everything was fine. All of this not to say that my organization skills are the most important to my success, but that in that moment I learned what was actually the most important thing. Appreciation. Appreciating the efforts, talent, and time my team constantly shares with me. Appreciating the moment, the client, the event, the show, the dance. As a leader, I acknowledge that success is not achieved alone, and because of that, I use every opportunity I can to appreciate and show gratitude to those around me.

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Image Credit:
Photography by Calin Casin
Main photo is taken by Glendy Blackstone Photography

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